Carrier and multicontainer package



Feb. 23, 1965 H. B. RICE CARRIER AND MULTICONTAINER PACKAGE Filed April 15, 1964 INVENTOR. #44 040 .3, Fm:

IG-l irrae/vi/ United States Patent CAER AND MULTHJONTAINER PACKAGE Harold B. Rice, Walnut Creek, Califi, assignor to John Burton Machine Corporation, Concord, Calif.

Filed Apr. 15, 1964, Ser. No. 359,893 2 Claims. (Cl. 206-65) This invention relates to a carrier for a plurality of containers and to a multicontainer package of the type in which the containers are upright and have upwardly extending necks at their upper ends, and caps secured over said necks projecting radially outwardly therefrom to provide axially downwardly facing surfaces. Such containers may be conventional glass bottles such as are commonly used for beverages, or they may be cans of metal or of any suitable material.

This invention is, in many respects, similar to the carrier disclosed in application Serial No. 170,757, filed February 2, 1962 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The structure shown in the pending application has been found to be extremely useful in carrying a relatively large number of small bottles. For example, the cited structure has been found to be extremely useful for use in a six-pack package in which two rows of three containers each are arranged to provide one complete package. The cited structure is also useful in providing a carrier for one row of three bottles, for

example, and, as indicated in the cited application, the six-pack carrier may be divided into two three-packs merely by separating the package along its longitudinally extending central plane so as to provide two packages each including a carrier and a single row of containers in side by side relationship.

It has been found that the structure disclosed in Serial No. 170,757 is sometimes not rugged enough to carry relatively large heavy containers since, in order to be practical and economical, the carrier should be formed of relatively light inexpensive material such as paperboard.

It is the main object of the present invention to provide a carrier of the same general type as that shown in Serial No. 170,757 but which carrier is particularly suited for use with relatively large and heavy containers such as family size soft drinks and quart size malt beverages.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a carrier for a plurality of containers which is particularly adapted for use with a single row of containers as distinguished from a double row of containers arranged as they usually are in conventional six-packs.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a carrier for containers which may be made of relatively light inexpensive material such as paperboard and which at the same time is formed so as to provide optimum resistance'to buckling under the loads imposed by relatively heavy containers.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following specification and from the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the blank employed to form a carrier of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective showing the carrier applied to one row of two bottles.

FIG. 3 is a perspective taken from the opposite side of the carrier in FIG. 2.

In detail, and first with reference to FIG. 1, the carrier blank generally designated A is formed from a rectangular sheet of semirigid resilient material such as paperboard and is formed with longitudinally extending parallel creases 1, 2 and 3 which correspond, respectively, with the creases 17, 16 and 5 in copending application Serial No. 170,757. inwardly of crease 3 are a pair of neck receiving openings 4 corresponding to the neck receiving openings 6 of the cited structure.

outer surface of the container necks.

ice

Between the longitudinally extending crease 1 and longitudinally extending adjacent side edge 5 of the blank A the latter is cut as at 7 in the shape of circular arcs corresponding to cuts 18 in the cited structure. marginal portions surrounding openings 4 are cut to provide radially inwardly directed tabs 12. p

At this point it may be noted that the structure thus far described is substantially identical to that corresponding to one half of the complete blank disclosed in the cited structure. It will also be apparent by reference to the cited application that the caps 13 of the bottles 10 may be received through holes 4, and since the holes 4 are smaller in diameter than the major diameter of the caps the tabs 12 are bent upwardly from the plane of the sheet as the caps 13 are passed through openings 4 so that said tabs 12 spring back inwardly due to their own resiliency and engage the necks of the bottles 10 with the ends of the tabs in abutment with the axially downwardly facing surfaces of the caps 13. p

The rectangular portion of the sheet A which contains openings 4 is indicated at 15 in the drawings and it will be understood that said portion 15 provides a horizontally disposed support for the bottles. The rectangular section of the sheet A between crease lines 2 and 3 is indicated at 16 and, as in the reference structure, extends vertically upwardly from the support 15 along one of the corresponding sides of the caps 13 (FIG. 2). The section 17 between crease lines 1 and 2 is then bent horizontally over the tops of the caps 13 and the section 18 between side edge 5 of the blank A and crease 1 is bent angularly downwardly sothat the cut edge 21 of cut 7 engages under the cap 13 in gripping relation therewith.

It will be apparent that the structure thus far described may be used for carrying two or more bottles in one row in the same manner as the half blank shown in the cited application.

By the present invention the blank A is provided with an extension consisting of two sections 21, 22 between the supporting section 15and the edge 23 of' the blank at its opposite edge '5. Said sections 21, 22 are separated by crease line 24, and section 21 is separated from section 15 by crease line 26.

Holes 36 are formed in section 22 in alignment with the holes 4 previously described These holes 30 are adapted to receive the necks of the bottles therethrough and the marginal portions of said holes 3%) are provided with radially extending cuts defining tabs 31 somewhat similar to tabs 12 but preferably of a shorter radial extent. Holes 30 are, in most instances, larger in diameter than holes 4 since the necks of most containers converge upwardly so that the diameter of the containers is greater at points spaced downwardly from the upper ends of the necks engaged by caps 13.

By the present invention the carrier A is applied to the containers by passing the caps of the containers through openings 30 and urging the supporting section 22 downwardly so that the tabs 31 yieldably engage the Section 21 is then bent upwardly along crease line 24 to provide a vertically disposed stiffening Wall between the supports defined by sections 15 and 22. The section 15 is then bent inwardly so that the container caps 13 pass through the openings 4. The remainder of the sheet is then assembled on the containers as described above.

An alternative method of applying the carrier to the containers is to bend the sheet A along crease lines 24, 26 to provide a channel shaped member extending longitudinally of the row of containers and then apply the carrier to the bottles by passing the containers through holes 30 and 4 successively.

To provide a convenient means for carrying the pack- The ages cut 35 may be provided as shown on wall 21 with fingers of the user. of three bottles is 'to be supported the finger opening should bepositioned centrally of the longitudinal extent of the blank A or more than one opening may be provided depending on the space available around the container necks. i 7 v lt will be apparent that the above described structure provides an extremely strong support for relatively heavy containers in that thevertically extending wall 21 acts as a beam resisting buckling of the structure under heavy loading. Also the combination of horizontally extending supports defined by sections 15, 22 of the blank contribute to the. strength of the assembly and also ensure separation-of the containers in spaced apart relation when this is desired.

The very specific description given above of the pre- H said upper end having an axially downwardly facing surface around said neck, a carrier for said containers comprising:

a sheet of bendable resilient material bent along spaced parallel lines to provide a pair of upper and lower horizontally disposed neck engaging supports and a vertically disposed wall connecting said supports, said supports each being provided with neck receiving openings receiving the necks of said containers therethrough,

said sheet including a cap'covering extension extending upwardly from said upper support along one of the-corresponding sides of said caps andiover 1 the tops of said caps completely covering the latter and then -angularly downwardly and terminating in a free edge adjacent said upper support, said cap covering extension being formed with slits providing openings receiving the Opposite corresponding sides ofsaid caps therethrough with one side of each slit sprung past its corresponding cap and in gripping relation with the axially downwardly facing surface thereof,

the portionsof said section ,adjacentthe opposite sides 2. In a package that includes a pair of upright containers in side by side relationship each having a restricted diameter neck at its upper end and a cap secured over said upper end having an axially downwardly facing surface around said neck, i a carrier for said containers formed from a unitary sheet of sernirigid sheet material and comprising:

a pair of vertically spaced upper and lower horizontally disposed neck engaging supports,

said supports each being provided with neck receiving openings receiving the necks of said containers therethrough,

a vertically disposed wall extending'betweensaid supports and integrally connected thereto,

a cap covering section fixedly secured to said upper support and extending upwardly from said upper support along one of the corresponding sides of said caps and completely over the tops of said caps and in engagement therewith and then angularly downwardly and terminating in a free edge adjacent said'upper support,

said cap covering sectionbeing formed with arcuate slits providing openings receiving the opposite corresponding sides of said caps therethrough with one side of each slit sprung past itscorresponding' cap and in gripping relation with the axially -downwardly facing surface thereof,

the poitions of said section adjacentthe'oppo'site sides of said slits being in covering relation with the up- I wardly directed surfaces of said caps.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,227,780 1/41 Hickman 224452.5

' 2,320,440 6/43 Kruea 29487.2 2,330,699 9/43 Flamm 224-452.5 2,397,716 4/46 Wendler 294-872 2,671,584 3/54 Taylor 206-65 2,680,038 6/54 Gray 294 87.22 2,737,326 3/56 Toensmeier 20665 2,823,063 2/58 Toensmeierj 206-65 2,823,064 2/ 58 Toensmeier 20665 2,844,245 7/58 Gruber 206 -47 3,016,259 1/62 Lawrence 206-65 Baker 20665 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, Examiner. 

2. IN A PACKAGE THAT INCLUDES A PAIR OF UPRIGHT CONTAINERS IN SIDE BY SIDE RELATIONSHIP EACH HAVING A RESTRICTED DIAMETER NECK AT ITS UPPER END AND A CAP SECURED OVER SAID UPPER END HAVING AN AXIALLY DOWNWARDLY FACING SURFACE AROUND SAID NECK, A CARRIED FOR SAID CONTAINERS FORMED FROM A UNITARY SHEET OF SEMIRIGID SHEET MATERIAL AND COMPRISING: A PAIR OF VERTICALLY SPACED UPPER AND LOWER HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED NECK ENGAGING SUPPORTS, SAID SUPPORTS EACH BEING PROVIDED WITH NECK RECEIVING OPENINGS RECEIVING THE NECKS OF SAID CONTAINERS THERETHROUGH, A VERTICALLY DISPOSED WALL EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID SUPPORTS AND INTEGRALLY CONNECTED THERETO, A CAP COVERING SECTION FIXEDLY SECURED TO SAID UPPER SUPPORT AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID UPPER SUPPORT ALONG ONE OF THE CORRESPONDING SIDES OF SAID CAPS AND COMPLETELY OVER THE TOPS OF SAID CAPS AND IN ENGAGEMENT THEREWITH AND THEN ANGULARLY DOWNWARDLY AND TERMINATING IN A FREE EDGE ADJACENT SAID UPPER SUPPORT, SAID CAP COVERING SECTION BEING FORMED WITH ARCUATE SLITS PROVIDING OPENINGS RECEIVING THE OPPOSITE CORRESPONDING SIDES OF SAID CAPS THERETHROUGH WITH ONE SIDE OF EACH SLIT SPRUNG PAST ITS CORRESPONDING CAP AND IN GRIPPING RELATION WITH THE AXIALLY DOWNWARDLY FACING SURFACE THEREOF, THE PORTIONS OF SAID SECTION ADJACENT THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID SLITS BEING IN COVERING RELATION WITH THE UPWARDLY DIRECTED SURFACES OF SAID CAPS. 